Stigma Towards Homosexuality and AIDS Among Students of a Large Hispanic-Serving University

Homosexuality and AIDS-related stigma lead to failures in testing, disclosure of HIV status, and treatment for HIV. This study explored stigma towards AIDS and homosexuality among students of a large Hispanic-serving university in the southeastern United States (US). An online anonymous survey was emailed to 8000 randomly selected students. Two multiple choice questions about attitudes towards a professor with AIDS and a gay classmate were analyzed using Chi-square tests, simple and multivariable logistic regression to examine the association of stigma with other factors. Most (60%) of the 632 respondents were women. Only 7.8% of study participants reported stigmatizing attitudes of wanting to drop a class, sitting further away from, or feeling less comfortable in a class with a professor diagnosed with AIDS. Similarly, 7.8% of respondents would stigmatize a gay classmate by trying to avoid social contact or feeling uncomfortable talking with him. Males (adjusted odds ratio AOR] 3.71, 95% confidence interval CI] 1.95, 7.04) and non-Hispanic students (AOR 2.03, 95% CI 1.08, 3.81) had a higher—and those born in the US had a lower (AOR 0.43, 95% CI 0.23, 0.81)—odds of stigmatizing a gay classmate. No variables were significantly associated with stigmatizing attitudes towards a professor with AIDS. Stigmatizing attitudes towards a faculty member with AIDS or a gay classmate do not appear to be a major problem among students at this Hispanic-serving university. Interventions designed to further reduce gay-related stigma might focus on non-Hispanic young men who are born outside of the United States.